Duke VB in the Sweet 16: Penn St 3, Duke 1

[SCMatt33]

Duke beat Ohio tonight in a down to the wire 5-set match (http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=205042815&DB_OEM_ID=4200) to advance to the sweet 16 for the first time since 1994. They are the only ACC team to advance as the others fell to seeded teams on the road. Duke will face Missouri, who upset overall 5-seed Northern Iowa in the first round. The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 4 Penn St. and Oklahoma.

[burnspbesq]

Ohio blocked like crazy against us. That may not be a huge issue against Mizzou, which is a pretty small team (only one player over 6'0"), but it does point out that we're going to have to diversify the offense, in order to get our hitters more opportunities to go against only one blocker (only three of Ohio's 26 blocks were solos), as we progress deeper into the tournament.

Have to give props to FSU. They fought like hell, and actually had a match point in game 5 against the overall number one seed.

[hughgs]

Ohio blocked like crazy against us. That may not be a huge issue against Mizzou, which is a pretty small team (only one player over 6'0"), but it does point out that we're going to have to diversify the offense, in order to get our hitters more opportunities to go against only one blocker (only three of Ohio's 26 blocks were solos), as we progress deeper into the tournament.

Have to give props to FSU. They fought like hell, and actually had a match point in game 5 against the overall number one seed.

First off, I don't think you can give props to FSU for game 5. They were up 11-7 and lost. That's never good in rally scoring to 15.

But, one to more important topics.

I'm not sure how Duke is going to diversify its offense. Duke's style of play is "small ball" in that the sets tend to shorter and quicker than normal. That's not something you can practice over the next two days.

What I saw last night pointed towards passing and setting. I don't think the passing was that good, especially the second game. Without decent passing it's hard to run a good offense. And when the passes were there I don't the best setting decisions were made. There didn't seem to be nearly the number of one-on-one hitting situations for Duke against OU as there seemed to be against HPU.

In the end I think it will come down to how much desire Duke plays with. Their offense and the plays they run are good enough to compete with Mizz U. Duke has essentially two liberos for defense playing (Claire and Ali). So, it comes down to the little things like positioning and movement. And during game time that can all get back to desire. Look at the defense that Becci played in the fourth and fifth games. She covered her zone extremely well and was able to move her feet enough to make good passes. And remember she's considered one of the weaker passers (based on the substitution pattern) of the starters. Good passes give the setter the opportunity to make good sets. And if Kelly plays even a little better than Duke's offense can take care of the rest.

[SCMatt33]

Duke's match is going on right now with Mizzou. There is a live feed on NCAA.com (http://www.ncaa.com/allaccess/?media=216506) for anyone interested. Duke is up 1-0 after winning the first set 25-19.

[MCFinARL]

Duke's match is going on right now with Mizzou. There is a live feed on NCAA.com (http://www.ncaa.com/allaccess/?media=216506) for anyone interested. Duke is up 1-0 after winning the first set 25-19.

Thanks for posting this! I'm watching right now. Duke is up 2-1 and 9-5 in the fourth --and hopefully last--game.

[Stray Gator]

Congrats to the volleyball team, and good luck tomorrow!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Seemed like they were letting them back in there at the end..nerves maybe. Nice choice to call the time out, even nicer that Mizzou served it into the net. :D

[juise]

even nicer that Mizzou served it into the net. :D

It's just like "icing" a kicker before a big field goal or a free throw shooter in an end-game situation... worked like a charm. ;)

[SCMatt33]

For those not well versed in Duke volleyball history (or at least read recent GoDuke articles), this is only the second time that Duke has appeared in the Elite 8 (1993), and the first time that they have ever won three matches in the NCAA tourney as they only had to win two to make the Elite 8 back then.

The match has yet to happen, so technically they could still play OU, but they will likely have to face Penn State in Happy Valley in order to make their first Final Four. Let's let it play out, but Duke is 0-9 all time vs. Penn State, Penn State has won over 90 straight home games, and they are the 3 time defending champs. Duke has been favored in all of their matches so far, but making the Final Four will likely take a monumental upset. It will be fun to see if they can pull it off.

[SCMatt33]

Sorry to post twice in a row, but I forgot to mention that tomorrow's match will be on ESPNU at 6:30 PM. Anyone know if the volleyball team has ever been on national TV before?

[Deslok]

I don't think they've been on national TV before, but thanks for the info since otherwise I'd have no clue it was on TV.

I was at Duke for their last run this far, during the Wilson years, which was a fun team to be around. Hope this years group of Blue Devils can continue their success this weekend and into future years.

[burnspbesq]

Two Duke teams that weren't exactly favorites to win national championships have done so in calendar year 2010. Why not three? If you're going to dream, might as well dream big.

[roywhite]

The match has yet to happen, so technically they could still play OU, but they will likely have to face Penn State in Happy Valley in order to make their first Final Four. Let's let it play out, but Duke is 0-9 all time vs. Penn State, Penn State has won over 90 straight home games, and they are the 3 time defending champs. Duke has been favored in all of their matches so far, but making the Final Four will likely take a monumental upset. It will be fun to see if they can pull it off.

Yes, it will be against Penn State on their home court, a difficult task for sure.

A little perspective, though; Penn State is down a notch or so; after winning 109 straight mataches, their streak was broken early in the year; PSU went into the regionals with a 28-5 record and a #4 seed overall. Very good, but they are beatable.

[SCMatt33]

Two Duke teams that weren't exactly favorites to win national championships have done so in calendar year 2010. Why not three? If you're going to dream, might as well dream big.

The volleyball team is a little more than "not exactly favorites." If they won, they would be the lowest seed of all time to win the tourney. Stanford was the 11th seed in '04.

[DukeBlueNikeShox]

It's funny that Duke, who wasn't ranked in the Top 25 all season, is in the Elite 8, but Florida (1), Nebraska (2), Hawaii (3), and Illinois (8) were in the Top 10 all season and are eliminated. Btw, did anybody see the fight between the Nebraska and Washington coaches after the match?!!

[burnspbesq]

We've seen a Duke team on the rise as heavy underdog to a three-time defending champion in the Elite Eight once before. Worked out pretty well last time.

[SCMatt33]

Duke has lost the first two sets, but came back to win the third. Down 2-1. Even if they lose, they are the first team to steal a set from Penn State in the tourney so far. Great effort by the team and let's see if that epic comeback can happen.

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

Great season. Congrats to the team. They lost 3-1 to Penn State.

GO DUKE!

[CameronBornAndBred]

Duke has lost the first two sets, but came back to win the third. Down 2-1. Even if they lose, they are the first team to steal a set from Penn State in the tourney so far. Great effort by the team and let's see if that epic comeback can happen.
First team in 5 years to take one in the tourney from them on their home court. Congrats on a great season ladies!

[buddy]

Congratulations to Coach Nagel and the team. It is always a disappointment when a season ends with a loss (which every season does except for the national champion). This team should be very proud of their accomplishments. I made most of the home games. The matches are quite enjoyable, the players are accomplished both on the court and in the classroom, and Coach Nagel is a class act. Sorry to see Becci and Claire graduate, but am looking forward to next season.

[burnspbesq]

A sad ending, but still one of the best seasons in the history of Duke volleyball. The team and staff should be very proud of their accomplishments.

That said, the gap between "good enough to win the ACC" and "good enough to win a national championship" was made pretty obvious last night. If Duke wants to bridge that gap, the staff has to successfully recruit at a higher level.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Penn State won the tourney today. Duke was the only team to take a set from them, they swept both opponents in the final four.